2011 Innovative Workforce Development Grants
| Lead Applicant | Project Name | Geographic and Project Location | Project Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Department of Transportation | Certified Transit Technician Program | Tampa, Florida | Funds will expand the Certified Transit Technician Program previously developed by the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida. The program's curriculum is comprised of classroom, hands-on, and on-the job training. Students will earn a Post Secondary Adult Vocational Certification (PSAV) and an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Master Certification in transit vehicle maintenance, as well as receiving college credit towards an associate's degree. Students are sent by various transit agencies in the Florida Transit Maintenance Consortium. | $188,881 |
| Regional Transportation District (Denver RTD) | Regional Workforce Initiative Now (WIN) | Colorado (Denver Metro Area) | Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) will create a workforce partnership in coordination with the Community College of Denver, Denver Transit Partners, and the Urban League of Metro Denver. This collaborative partnership leverages existing training providers to assess, train and place community members into careers in transportation and transit construction. | $486,465 |
| Massachusetts, University of (UMass Transit Center) | A Public Transit Certificate Program for College Students | Amherst, Massachusetts | The University of Massachusetts Transit System will work with the University of Massachusetts Transportation Center (UMTC) at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and CTTRANSIT in Hartford, Connecticut to offer a Certificate in Transit Management and Operations to college students that are interested in careers in public transportation. Students would receive pre-employment training and preparation for careers in transit as part of a standard university curriculum. The program will also serve as a model for public transit operators and universities across the country for encouraging and training college students to consider careers in public transit. | $127,284 |
| Community Coordinated Transportation Systems (River Cities Public Transit) | Center for Transit eLearning (C-TEL) | Pierre, South Dakota | The Center for Transit eLearning (C-TEL) project will develop an accessible, scalable, and sustainable online learning system that meets the diverse training needs of transit agency employees, particularly rural agencies. River Cities Public Transit in South Dakota will partner with the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the National Transit Institute (NTI), and the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC). | $275,000 |
| New Jersey Transit Corporation | Transit Academy and Youth Outreach Programs | New Jersey | The New Jersey Transit Corporation will expand "The Academy", an existing work-readiness and awareness program that partners with vocational schools and high schools across New Jersey. The outreach program aims to make students of these high schools more aware of the types of positions and careers in the transit industry. It also aims to help those who become interested in transit aware of the underlying skills needed to successfully compete for and secure these jobs. | $183,900 |
| New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) | Streetcar Maintenance Training Program | New Orleans, Louisiana | NORTA, One-Stop Career Center, and Delgado Community College will establish a new streetcar maintenance training program. This effort will support the classroom and on-the-job training of nontraditional employment candidates in streetcar maintenance and repair. | $400,000 |
| Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA) | Metro University: Developing the Next Generation of Transportation Professionals | Los Angeles Area, California | The LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) will partner with the LA Community College District (LACCD) to develop a training curriculum for Technical Development and Leadership Development. The program will deliver training and fill an existing training gap from positions that will be vacated during the next five years due to retirements. LACMTA will deploy a technology-based solution that combines the latest version of online learning management tools with the training series to be delivered by LACCD and its community colleges, that will be transferable not only to other agencies in the Southern California region, but nationwide. | $480,000 |
| Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority | Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) Leadership Training Program | New York (Buffalo/Niagara region) | The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) will work with the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) and the Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE). The program will prepare current NFTA employees for new responsibilities and develop transit performance improvement solutions that are data-driven and results-oriented. Selected employees will receive TCIE professional development training and project work in Supervisory & Leadership Mentoring, a Lean Six Sigma Executive Overview and Six Sigma Green Belt Certification. This effort will provide a template for implementing Six Sigma at other transit agencies. | $50,000 |
| Penn Department of Transportation | Pennsylvania Innovative Leadership Development Program (PILDP) | Pennsylvania (all) | The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will create the Pennsylvania Innovative Leadership Development Program (PILDP) in coordination with PennTRAIN, and Pennsylvania's Rural Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP), which provides critical training and resources to rural transit agencies within the Commonwealth. Federal funding will help PennTRAIN currently renew and expand two major training programs (TransitSCORE and their Professional Supervisor Program) to the transit industry. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will also be involved as a partner in translating the PILDP program to a large urban context. | $200,000 |
| UtahTransit Authority (UTA) | Blended Learning Leadership Training Program | Utah (Salt Lake City Area) | The Utah Transit Authority will expand the Blended Learning Leadership Training Program in collaboration with the University of Utah , by building on existing essential supervisor and leadership development training, and working to develop a computer-based training (CBT) delivery system which will be used to improve the distribution, quantity and timeliness of training. The product will be free of charge and adaptable to other transit agencies according to their needs. | $113,193 |
| Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority | Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Public Management Academy | Cleveland, Ohio | The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) will work with the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and the Center for Leadership Development to train (up to 90% of current) GCRTA managers in a public management certification program. The program will enhance the retention, development, and attraction of leaders for GCRTA and function as a national training model for the transit industry. The goal is to enable agency managers to transfer 'best practice' management theory into practical application. | $286,687 |
| Chicago Transit Authority | Transit Leadership Competency Model and Integrated HR Practices | Illinois (Chicago & Suburbs) | The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), in conjunction with Roosevelt University and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, will create a competency model for transit leadership. The creation of CTA's transit leadership competency model will be the first of its kind, and will be an innovative yet standardized tool to consistently and evaluate current or potential transit job candidates. This project is structured to evolve into an industry specific system for nation-wide use, and will be piloted at CTA. | $208,590 |
Last updated: Wednesday, December 2, 2015